Twin tumbler for drying fabrics



April 1956 F. H. RICHTERKESSING 2,742,710

TWIN TUMBLER FOR DRYING FABRICS Filed Dec. 22. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l ZSnventor Gttorneg April 24, [956 F. H. RICHTERKESSING 2,742,710

TWI-N TUMBLER FOR DRYING FABRICS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22, 1952 3nventor .2 ICH 75.2 K6 550v;

FZANK H- j attorney Unit d States Patent '0 TWIN TUMBLER FOR DRYING FABRICS Frank H. Richterkessing, Louisville, Ky., assignor to W. M.-Cissell Manufacturing Co., Incorporated, Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application December 22, 1952, Serial No. 327,251 3 Claims. 01. 34-127 This invention relates to drying apparatus employing a plurality of perforated drums into which damp articles, such as apparel are placed for drying in response to the forced circulation of hot and/or cold air through the drums while the said drums are rotating.

The main object of the invention is to provide a drying.

apparatus having two independent rotatable drums, one Superimposed above the other in order to conserve floor space and unnecessary duplication of certain accessories, two independent heating units, a single exhaust chamber equipped with a single exhaust fan. Said structure being so equipped and organized that either or both drums can be aereated and operatedat full capacity and be completely independent of one another, even in regard to the hot air inputto each drum.

Another object of my invention is to provide a drying apparatus having two rotating perforated drums, mounted in a unitary housing, preferably superimposed; two independentair supply chambers above the top drum, eachhaving a heating unit installed therein; suitable partitions for dividing the housing into two ducts in each of which is mounted one of said drums so that air from each supply chamber will flow to a common exhaust chamber in the bottom of the housing that is so organized that air can enter one chamber independently of the other chamber, whereupon itmay be heated, then drawn through one duct and discharged into and from the common chamber. A

Other and subordinate objects are also comprehended by my invention, all of which together with the precise nature of my improvements will be readily understood when the succeeding description and claims areread with reference to the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification.

In said drawings: 7 I

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a complete drying apparatus embodying the invention. t

Figure 2 is a schematic vertical elevational drawing illustrating the manner in which partitions are employed;

to divide a unitary housing or casing having two individual air supply chambers at the top thereof witha heating unit in each chamber so that there will be two individual ducts extending downwardly to and discharging into a common discharge chamber located at the bottom of the housing. A fabric drying drum is indicated in each duct, likewise an exhaust fanis shown associated with the discharge chamber.

Figure 3 isa side elevational view of Figure l with parts broken away and parts in section.

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the top separable unit, without door or front cover 2A, having two air supply chambers equipped with individual or entirely independent gas burners.

Figure 5 is a central or vertical sectional view of the heater unit similar to Figure 4 showing each chamber" equipped with steam or heating units provided with dampers lodged in the open position, while; v

Figure 6 shows Fig. 5 with the dampers closed.

2,742,710 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 "ice 2,351,429, unsatisfactory operations or results or bothwere encountered such as, unequal drying time for the respective drums under otherwise identical conditions, heavy deposits of lint on the articles in the second drum carried thereto when the flow of air was in series (as shown by the patent, supra) and the undesirable introduction of cold air into the second or lower drum when the door of the upper drum was open;

The unequal drying times for the two drums was the result of passing hot, dry-air into the first drum, which immediately collected moisture from the damp apparel therein, thereby causing a considerable drop in the temperature of the hot air. The passing of this damp and cooler air into the second drum, in effect, withheld appreciable drying of the apparel in the second drum until the articles in the first drum were substantially dry. Thus, instead of simultaneous drying in thetwo drums, a more or less sequential drying condition was encoun tered.

As to the undesirable lint condition in the second drum, this was the result of the air moving. through the first drum gathering lint from the tumbled apparel therein, and carrying same into'the second'drum.

As to the undesirable introduction of cool air into the second drum, when the door affording access to the first drum was opened, this was the result of the relative series arrangement of the apparatuses in the following order, heater, first drum, second drum and exhaust fan. Obviously, opening the door affording access to the first drum provided a cold air inlet into the first drum, and thus by-passed the heater providing only cool air for the seconddrum, as long as the door was open. Opening the door affording access to the second drum did not introduce'cool air into the first drum, as this operation effectively by-passed both the heater and the first drum. Thus, as the operator opens the doors from time to time to inspect the loads, conditions are established which further aggravate the unequal drying times of the first and second drums. i

In applicants Patent No. 2,687,578, independent parallel air ducts for the respective drums receive hot air from a common heating source, and while the stated undesirable operations and effects of the single chamber for'two drums areeliminated, other'serious problems were en countered, especially when one drum is stopped without removing immediately the dried fabrics therefrom, and the second drum is operated at such time'with wet fabrics therein. unit results in scorching of the dried fabrics. it has been found necessary for successful control independently and efiectively the heated air flowing to each drum.

The present invention tiously accomplishing the doing has provided a fabric drying tumbler having: (1) increased efliciency; (2) greater ease and flexibility 'of operation with less operator skill; and (3) structural Therefore,

superiority over what has heretofore been practiced in casing. The numeral 2 designatesa heater unit which is,

removably mounted on top of thecasing. ,In this em bodiment' two entirely independent gas burners 2A, 2B-

The continued operation of the single heating operation? to provides apparatus for expedi stated desideraturn, and in so are -shown which are illustrated more specifically in However, .it. is..to.be.nnderstood that other. forms of heaters, such as that illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, may be employed.

Numeral: 5 designates a; COH'IPQuHdJPQI'fifiOH- thatpartially embraces -drums*9.and 10. while partitions- 6 and 7 partially and diametrically embrace, respectively said drums. The lower. end, of partition:.6 has a cut off-6a connecting it'with the upright side wall of case 1, thereby providing the dead space 61;. The upper end of partition 7 has acut ofi extension 7A connecting with the upright sidewall of the casing while the .upper end of partition 5 has anextension 5A that divides the heater unit 2 into twoseparate sub chambers, respectively 3 and 4. -Here, it will be observed that each drum is mounted ina separate passage-chamber or duct that receive. hot air from their respective individual chambers Stand .4. The exhaust air from each drum chamber is discharged into a lint trap L slidably mounted in the discharge chamber DC in which exhaust fan EF is also installed. The long light arrows indicate air entering the heater unit at each side, traveling diagonally downwardly and discharged from the exhaust fan. The bold arrows 9b, 10b indicate counterclockwise rotation for the drums so that the longitudinal ribs 9A and 10B lift and roll the fabric articles-substantially over the exhaust opening formed by the pairs of partitions at the lower right-hand side of each drum chamber or compartment. This arrangement forces the air to move through the tumbled fabrics while on its way to the exhaust opening, thus contributing materially to the drying action of the apparatus.

Character '2A, Fig. l designates a perforated door or panel which is hinged at the top to provide access to the heater means from the front of the unit. 10, 1b, 10, respectively are individual removable front panels.

A door 11, affording access to the upper, rotatingdrum 9, is pivotally mounted upon the panel'la by hinge 14. A snap-latch 13 retains the door'll in closed position, and a heat-resisting, glass-panel 12 permits visual-inspection of the garments within the upper drum 9.

A bracket 16 is conveniently mounted upon the panel In for receiving the open top-end of laundry nets or bags to facilitate transfer of garments to and'from the drum -9.

A door 11a, affording access to the lower, rotatingdrum 10, is pivotally mounted upon the panel lb by hinge 140, a snap-latch 13a retains the door 11a in'closed position, and a heat-resisting, glass-panel 12a permits visual inspection of the garments within the lower drum 10.

A bracket 16a is conveniently mounted upon the panel 111 for receiving the open top-end of laundry nets or bags, to facilitate transfer of garments to and from the drum 10.

, The lower removable panel is encloses'the chamber containingthe lint trap L and suction fan EF.

The lint trap L is constructed of perforated metal in the shape of a drawer, and it will be noted that the lint trap or drawer L'has a solid front panel LA carrying a handle LH, and that the drawer is slidably mounted upon rails formed on the lower ends of the cut-off extensions 7B and 1B.

A bumper B is mounted upon theremovable panel 1c, to guide :the laundry baskets as they :are pushed to and from the machine.

In Figure 3, parts are cut-away and parts are shown in section, so ,as to show the longitudinal ribs 10a in the perforated drum 10, and the perforated lint trap or drawer L.

In Figure 2, the three longitudinal ribs 9a of the upper drum 9, and the three ribs 10a of the lower drum 10, are illustrated as being located symmetrically about the rotating axis of the drum.

Referring now to Figure 3 the numeral '17 designates the motor that rotates the upper drum 9 via V-belt 17a, gear reducer 17b and drum shaft 170. The numeral "18 designates'the motor that revolves the, lower drum 10 via V-belt 18a, gear reducer 18b and drum shaft 180. "Numeral 19 designates the motor that operates the suction or exhaust fan EF, and it is to benoted that this fan is-provided with a discharge opening 0, which is to be connected by duct piping to the exterior of the building, so as to discharge the humid air into atmosphere.

Motors 17 and 18 are mounted upon the upright casing 1 by suitable motor plates, while motor 19 is mounted upon the fan housing plate P, which is, in turn, mounted upon the casing 1.

Referring again to Figure 3, it will be noted that the gas solenoid valve 23 has a safety, pilot-valve23a, which is actuated by a lever 26 pivotally mounted upon a stationary bearing-support 27. In lighting the gas pilot, the operator merely raises the door 2A, manually raises lever 26 and holds a match to the pilot. After a short interval of time, the pilot flame will affect a heat responsive element associated with the safety, pilot-valve 23a that retains the same actuated. At this time the operator can release the lever 26 as the heat from the pilot fiame will hold the control 23a actuated until the pilot light is extinguished. The manual gas-valve 28 controls the amount of gas flowing to the gas burner, and is used by the operator to shut-off the gas, when it is desirable to operate the apparatus as a cold tumbler.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7, numeral 30 designates the main housing of the removable heater unit that is divided by extension partition 5A into sub-chambers 39A, 3013 which communicate respectively with the ducts in which drums 10 and 9 are operatively installed. Steam radiators 31, 32 are supplied respectively through solenoid valves 31A, 32A and are installed respectively in sub-chambers 30A, 303 to heat air flowing to the drums adverted to above. Although each heater is supplied separately, a common drainline 34 is provided for condensate.

Dampers 31D, 32D of the sliding type are operatively associated respectively with sub-chambers 30A, 3013 in order to control air flowing to each of the drums. Operating level 31L, accessible from the front of the tumbler when erected for use, manipulates damper 31D, while damper 32D is manipulated by lever 32L. Fig. 5 shows both dampers open for full free delivery of heated air to the drums. Figs. 6 and 7 show both dampers in the closed position for the heaters and open for the admission of ambient air employed for cooling the drums and contents. Thusly, it will be observed that the heaters, drums and dampers can be operated in unison or separately and independently either for heating or cooling the fabrics under process.

Without further description it is believed the present invention should be understandable by others desiring to practice the same and it is to be understood that various changes are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Drying apparatus, comprising a casing having two air supply chambers at the top thereof, each of said chambers having a vertical and a horizontal inlet, heating means in each of said chambers for heating the air received through said vertical inlet, a unitary movable damper mounted below the heating means in each supply chamber for varying the amount of air received in both inlets but in opposite directions, means providing a common dischargechamber at the bottom of said casing, means providing separate ducts connecting said discharge chamber with each air supply chamber, and a perforated drying drum mounted for rotation in each duct.

2. In a drying apparatus, a casing comprising back, side walls, an exhaust chamber at the bottom thereof and an air supply heater chamber at the top thereof divided into two compartments by a partition member between said compartments, that extends therefrom into said casing, which with said side walls provide separated conduits, each communicating with one of said compartments and said exhaust chamber, a heating unit in each heater cham- 5 her, each of which chambers has a vertical and a horizontal inlet, the vertical one disposed to admit unheated air for contact with its related heater unit and the horizontal one to admit air thereto out of contact with said unit, upper and lower perforated drums each rotatably mounted in one of said conduits, one superimposed above the other, each of said chambers being equipped with a unitary movable damper disposed between said heater unit and the casing for admitting either heated or unheated air to the conduit operatively associated therewith, and an exhaust fan communicating with said exhaust chamber.

3. In a drying apparatus, a casing comprising back, side walls, a bottom exhaust chamber and a unitary air supply heater chamber divided into two compartments by a partition member between said compartments, a second partition coextensive with the first one that extends therefrom into said casing, which with said side walls provide separated conduits, each communicating with one of said compartments and said exhaust chamber, a heating unit in each heater chamber, each of which chambers has a vertical and a horizontal inlet, the vertical one disposed to admit unheated air for contact with its related heater unit and the horizontal one to admit air thereto out of contact with said unit, upper and lower perforated drums each rotatably mounted one superimposed above the other in one of said conduits, each of said chambers being equipped with a unitary movable damper disposed between said heater unit and the casing for admitting either heated or unheated air to the conduit operatively associated therewith and an exhaust fan communicating with said exhaust chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

